


The children of Gotara

by Valonianfool



Category: Elfquest
Genre: Coming of Age, Fictional Religion & Theology, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:08:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24577339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Valonianfool/pseuds/Valonianfool
Summary: This is the story of a young girl who grew up on the world of two moons. Her tribe are the children of Gotara, the lord of the forest.





	1. Chapter 1

The twin moons were high in the sky, casting their silvery light onto the village below.

Men, women and children had gathered around a fire, their voices hoarse with sorrow as they lamented the dead. The deceased had been the mother of a mother and it was her grandsons who had dug the burial pit and carried her body on top of a stretcher. The daughters and granddaughters in turn had gathered all the items dear to her in life: jewels of amber, combs made of antler and beaded necklaces her relatives had crafted.

Neenah, a young girl of ten winters stood close to both her parents and watched the procession with tears in her eyes. Old Kima had been like a grandmother to her, always kind and ready to comfort her whenever something was wrong, and now she would be gone forever.

Amidst the wails and cries of sadness, the shaman began his oration.

“Fear not, children of Gotara. The eternal spirit will always watch over his children, both in this world and the next. Pain and suffering fill the world of the living, but in the world of spirit only joy will greet us.”

“I-I hate t-this,” stuttered Neenah and tugged her mother’s skirt.

“W-will I ever see grandmother Kima again?”

“All our ancestors live in the spirit world,” answered her father. “Gotara watches over them, making sure there is no hunger, no death and very little pain. Shaman makes sure that Kima’s soul will arrive there safely.”

After the shaman finished anointing the body with a red-brown ochre, the children of Kima began placing all her dear possessions into the pit, then a few amulets of ivory to protect her spirit on its journey. It was time to bid farewell.


	2. Life lessons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neenah learns about death

Two years later  
\--------------------

Time passed swiftly like a breath of wind. Neenah now spent more time with the women of the village; they taught her how to recognize the right roots and berries to gather, how to weave baskets and how to pound leather until it was soft like a newborn’s palm. Life went calmly on, but thoughts of death never left her mind. Did all things die? She had heard her elders talk of demons and how their lives were forever, never growing old or gray.

The shaman always ignored children, so instead she went to Tabak, her father and shaman’s apprentice. He explained that by Gotara’s design all living beings would one day leave the mortal realm. To prove it he picked a strange-looking skull from the mound of sacrifice and let his daughter behold it. A pair of bony ridges grew around the holes where the ears had been, and the eyeholes were large and egg-shaped. It couldn’t have come from a man, woman nor child.

Neenah had never seen a demon alive, but the sight of the skull brought a shiver down her spine. Demons were dangerous, she knew. Their magic was what had created the scaled one, the beast that brought devastation to their village seasons ago.

And yet, it was a relief to know that even their lives didn’t last forever.

“If demons are so evil, why do we keep their bones”? She asked timidly.

“Their remains will remind us that no matter what, no creature can resist Gotara’s law. Their magic might keep them from graying and growing frail, but by doing so they curse and twist the world around them. Only after death can their bodies undo the harm they caused”, said her father solemnly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Pinis are agnostic and have a rather cynical view of religion, which is probably why a lot of their villains early on were religious leaders, which I find more than slightly offensive considering that the humans are canonically poc.
> 
> This fanfic is supposed to amend that and explore how people use religion to cope with loss, and showcase shamans as knowledgeable and insightful in many ways.

**Author's Note:**

> This story will have multiple chapters.


End file.
